Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It

by AJ

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is an intense action thriller that by many accounts, including my own, is the best of the series. This movie finds IMF team leader Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the entire Impossible Mission Force disavowed after a mission inside the Kremlin goes terribly wrong. Nevertheless, his team still has to stop a madman from instigating nuclear holocaust, but without the vast resources they would normally have.

The most thrilling scene involves Cruise scaling the side of the world’s tallest building in Dubai. He’s more than 100 stories up and the special gloves that provide an extra strong grip aren’t very reliable. The real thrill comes when he has to figure out how to get back down the side of the skyscraper - without the gloves. This sequence, like the rest of the movie, is expertly shot and edited and completely engaging. I was too wrapped up in the action on screen to wonder about the movie magic behind these incredible sequences. The action set-pieces are exciting, but not over the top; I found myself thinking what Ethan Hunt must have been thinking in those situations: “This is a terrible idea, but it’s all I can think of right now.”

The Dubai skyscraper sequence is the centerpiece of the movie, but the other action scenes before and after aren’t lacking in any way. Most action movies are only concerned with explosions, guns, fights, and noise. Ghost Protocol has all of those things, but they are never without a purpose and are certainly not run of the mill. Like every action movie in recent years, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is influenced by The Bourne Identity and its sequels, but it doesn’t flat-out copy Bourne (unlike a lot of recent action movies). It’s well paced, has interesting characters, a not-too-flimsy but not-too-complicated plot, great visual effects, and did I mention thrilling action?

Credit for all of this goes to cinematographer Robert Elswit, editor Paul Hirsch, and especially director Brad Bird, whose previous films are the animated The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and The Iron Giant. Bird's live-action debut proves that talent and skill can translate to any type of film.

Christmas may have passed, but it’s not too late to treat yourself to one of the best films of the year. And for an extra treat, see it in IMAX or the new IMAX Experience, the sound system is the same even though screen is not a true IMAX screen (6 stories tall, 8 stories wide) but you’ll be too engrossed in the movie to notice.